the absolute unit of force in the meter-kilogram-second (MKS) system of physical units. It is defined as that force necessary to provide a mass of one kilogram with an acceleration of one meter per second per second. One newton is equal to a force of 100,000 dynes in the centimeter-gram-second (CGS) system, or a force of about 0.2248 pound in the foot-pound-second (English, or customary) system. The newton was named for Sir Isaac Newton, whose second law of motion describes the changes that a force can produce in the motion of a body.

An easy way to remember the dimensions of the newton is to recall that it is a unit of force. Force is a mass times an acceleration.

F = M x a

a = d v      d2x
    ---   =  ---
    d t      d t2

so the dimension has to be Mass (M)times Length(L) divided by (Time(t) squared)

 
ML
---
T2

or in SI units this becomes kg m s^-2